This week I am going to be flat out packing and making final plans for our big trip to Zimbabwe to visit the Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) project. I have been a patron of this fantastic charity for many years now but this will be my first visit to the project itself. I am also very honoured to be a patron of Wildlife Vets International (WVI) who are kindly sponsoring a domestic dog vaccination initiative that will help reduce distemper and rabies in the Painted Dog population. Additionally it will also protect the human population from rabies as the natural reservoir for this horrific virus is domestic dogs. Everyone's a winner. So on Saturday - my Mum, my fiancé (things have moved on) and I will set off to Zim with a shedload of veterinary supplies and kit to enable us not only to do the clinics but also kit out a basic lab/treatment room for the local vets to use at the centre for any injured dogs or research projects they are carrying out. Both PDC & WVI are very grateful for the support they receive from the drug companies, vet practices and wildlife enthusiasts, whether large or small. We are very fortunate here in the West, even during economic downturns that we can spare a little change to do a great deal of good in areas of the world that are less solvent than ourselves. I will be posting a few blogs and pictures during my time at the project so keep popping by to see how we are getting on. To get involved with some fundraising for PDC UK click on the link HERE - remember pennies go a long way so whatever you can do. Car boot sale? Scrap metal collection? Cake sale?